Green Building How-to

The six topics presented here (links on sidebar at left) are in two groups:  first there is architecture and construction, which is about designing a building with the environment in mind, and then picking a method to construct it; second there is the four standard Green Building topics of energy, healthy house design, and water and material conservation.

While some of the green architecture section is about environmental concerns, the majority of it is about designing a good building, and hence the section is potentially of value to anyone designing a house, not just those who have environmental priorities.  The issues covered here are usually omitted in most green building discussions, but are presented here because these choices deeply affect environmental choices and a key principle of the sensible house is making informed choices.

The construction section isn't really about construction itself, but about choosing the materials and methods of the building the envelope of the house: what kind of walls will you build, what windows will you use, how much insulation will you put in?

The remaining four sections provide the background info on making a healthy house and conserving energy, materials and water.

These topics are covered extensively enough for anyone to be able to make informed decisions, but because the information is condensed from thousands of pages of sources, it is by nature somewhat limited.

Green Building is by nature climate specific, and while much work has gone in to giving solutions for multiple climates, the original site was northwest specific, and so our coverage for hot-dry and hot-humid climates is somewhat lacking.